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Trump targets Oman
President Donald Trump said the United States has no talks planned with Iran and insisted the Strait of Hormuz remains “open and operating,” while also threatening to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of efforts related to the strait.
“If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb the shit out of them.”
In a Fox News account relayed by the BBC, Trump told reporter Trey Yingst, “If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb the shit out of them.”
The BBC also reported that Trump made the threat after Iranian officials said they were close to finalising a deal with Oman, and it noted that the 60-day Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Iran is expiring.
Al Jazeera reported that Trump posted on social media that the naval blockade of Iranian ports remains “in full force and effect,” while “The Hormuz Strait is open and operating.”
The same Al Jazeera report said mediators are trying to revive negotiations and quoted a US official saying Trump “decided to wait” and instructed his negotiating team to hold off until Tehran is “ready to make a deal.”
Oman, Iran, and US pressure
Al-Monitor described Monday’s meeting in Abu Dhabi between the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq, as Muscat faces “growing U.S. pressure” over its mediation with Iran to reopen maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Al-Monitor said Sultan Haitham arrived in the UAE on Monday accompanied by a delegation including Deputy Prime Minister for Defense Affairs Sayyid Shihab bin Tariq Al Said and Minister of State and Governor of Muscat Sayyid Bilarab bin Haitham Al Said.
Al-Monitor also reported that Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Bagheri said Tehran and Muscat reached a “mutual understanding” on the map of a transit route through the strait and were working to finalize details of an agreement and a joint statement.
In response to Trump’s social media map depicting the strait as US territory, Al Jazeera quoted Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs Kazem Gharibabadi writing, “Just as Trump correctly wrote the name of the eternal Persian Gulf, soon his delusion regarding the Strait of Hormuz will either be corrected or we will correct the delusions of this deluded man.”
Al-Monitor added that the proposed agreement follows a memorandum of understanding signed in June between the United States and Iran, and it said the memorandum urged Iran and Oman to discuss future governance and maritime services in the strait.
Stalemate and regional risks
As the US-Iran negotiation period ended without a clear end to the war in sight, CBS News said Trump threatened Monday to bomb Oman if the country “gets in the way” of U.S. efforts to war with Iran, and it tied the threat to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman saying Tehran had reached an agreement with Oman regarding future shipping routes in the strait.
“fell apart a short time later when both sides resumed strikes”
CBS News reported that the 60-day Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Iran was designed to bring about a ceasefire and at least partly reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but it said it “fell apart a short time later when both sides resumed strikes.”
Al Jazeera reported that outward progress toward peace talks and the return of maritime traffic through Hormuz has ground to a halt, and it said a missile threat alert was issued by the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday evening after its Defence Ministry said its air defences “detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran”.
The Al Jazeera report said both projectiles were reported to have landed in the sea and that the ministry added it was on high alert and “fully prepared” to deal with any threats.
Al Jazeera also said the rhetoric and stalled progress “threatening to extend the conflict,” while CNN’s account described vessel movements through the Strait of Hormuz as “still depressed” and said MarineTraffic data showed at least three commercial ships passed through the strait over the last 24 hours.